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Any reviews for Rocky & Bullwinkle S2 or Fractured Flickers yet? (1 Viewer)

MarcoBiscotti

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Both are on shelves today and I'm very excited, but for some reason I don't think these get Canadian distribution.. at least that's what one of the local retailers told me last time (though it's entirely possible that they just didn't order any copies). Anyways, I'm definitely heading out today in hopes of picking these up but I have a feeling I might have to resort to Amazon or Video Universe. Does anyone know if any early reviews have been posted for either of these yet? Also, what type of packaging does the 3-disc Fractured Flickers set come in? Is it just a triple disc keepcase, digipack, cardboard box with individual units, etc?
 

Casey Trowbridg

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TVShowsOnDVD.com has a review of season 2 of Rocky and Bullwinkle. Other than that, I haven't seen anymore for either title.
 

MarcoBiscotti

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Thanks Casey, must have missed that...

I'm so excited for this release, I called all my local retailers this morning, and so far all are scheduled to recieve it later in the week but none have got it in stock as of yet.

Well I'm off to check out the review, hope it's good! :)
 

Gord Lacey

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It's pretty much the same as season 1. If you've seen season 1 then you know what to expect from season 2. I was pissed they left the stupid R&B logo on the episodes. GRRRRR!!

Gord
 

Tony J Case

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It's got the Bug? Well, so much for me buying it then. I might go download the episodes in protest of their anti-pirating schnanigans - but there is NO way I'm paying for that.

Thanks Sony - I'll pass.
 

Josh Sieg

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You can download episodes?? Where?

I picked up the set this morning, and I love the packaging. It's a very nice looking set, and I'm enjoying these episodes!
 

Tony J Case

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"You can download episodes?? Where?"

Presumably any good file transfer service will be able to supply you with all the R&B goodness that you need.

And since we're sharing pictures, I thought I'd post a watermarked image from season 1 (I assume that the S2 version is similar) - so people know what they're getting.

http://home.hawaii.rr.com/brightcucu...ages/r&b03.jpg
 

MarcoBiscotti

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You guys have got to be kidding regarding these watermarks, I'm the last person you will ever find defending the practice of editing or altering original film or t.v. prints for home video release but the fact is that until now, Rocky & Bullwinkle episodes have been very uncommon and obscure in the home video market. Few videos have ever been released and television has been the only real medium to put forth these cartoons and make them publically accessible. I believe that a good number of these shorts have fallen into the public domain over the past many years, and for that reason and to limit the threat of potential bootleggers, the watermarks are used. This enables the company to trace the source of the video masters to prevent future copyright infringement and piracy, and to protect the cartoon's legacy. I'm sure the Jay Ward family invested millions of dollars into the restoration of these cartoons, and it would benefit nobody if they started appearing on pirated discs or cheap public domain releases. There are many unethical people in this world that would view the release of such a collection as a means of personal gain and would selfishly exploit the hard work that went into this set in order to benefit finanically. For that reason, I believe that such factors were necessary and I don't see how anybody could complain over such an issue. It's a small price to pay for a quality restoration of a classic cartoon series and keeping with reason, the logo is very tiny and subtle and lasts a mere 8 to 10 seconds on screen per segment. There is no need to be extremists in this regard, I understand many valid arguments posed over botched TV releases but this one just seems silly in context. Especially to go so far as to refuse to purchase the set and boycott the release over something so trivial. Download the episodes if you like, it's really only your loss. Rocky & Bullwinkle Season 1 was in my opinion, among the top releases of last year. I for one, can't wait to pick this up and will continue to support all future classic cartoon releases on DVD and am looking forward to more quality season sets from Classic Media!

Btw, thanks for the pics Josh! What's up with those discs though... where's the labels/art?
 

Josh Sieg

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I don't mind the watermarks at all.

The discs are double sided! 52 21 minute episodes spread across 4 discs. Plus the bonus features! :D
 

Steve Phillips

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I would never pay money for a DVD set with watermarks on screen.

Using watermarks or edited for syndication prints is simply unacceptable. :thumbsdown:
 

Tony J Case

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Ok, I'll bite - how exactly does a watermark prevent bootlegs? How is their material protected any better than the Star Wars bootlegs, etc. etc.?

Bootleggers will just sell copies with the watermark on them. If they sell bootlegs of films still in theatres I'm sure that a little watermark on an obscure title won't deter them.

This is of course overlooking the fact that they could have done the watermark so not to disturb the print (like putting it in the overscan area) or embedded it in the DVD coding that is imperceptible during normal use but readable by computers and software.

No, they went the cheap and easy route. So they can sit and spin for all I care.
 

MarcoBiscotti

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Steve, the prints are not edited and these are not watermarks like you'd see on Cartoon Network or Boomerang. They are tiny transparent 'R&B' logos that stay on screen for an entire 10 seconds throughout each 5 minute segment. I got through half of disc 1 of the first season set before even noticing these were present!

Honestly, if people decided to "boycott" all dvd's that werent released exactly to their expectations, studios would just stop producing dvds altogether. You cant please everyone, if we were all to make the decision not to purchase this dvd set over such minor, trivial issues than we would never see Rocky & Bullwinkle and so many other cartoons released to dvd ever.. You cant expect total control over a studio's production, these are not custom titles they are intended for a general audience. I can understand certain claims such as those made in regards to the Alf season set using syndicated prints, but I really thins this is taking it too far. People will find anything to complain about when it comes to a studio release when the last set was as close to perfection as any classic cartoons weve seen in a long time... enjoy and support it and that way we will hopefully see more releases in the same vein. Constructive criticism is fine, but boycotting such a release does not solve anything, it's completely frivolous. Would I prefer that watermarks were not used... of course, but I can also completely understand their purpose and why the Jay Ward family would chose to include them giving the ammount of time, money and effort that was put into restoring these beautiful prints for release. Again, many of these cartoons are currently in the public domain, the Jay Ward family has much to protect and this seems like a minialist legitimate means.
 

MarcoBiscotti

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Tony, as I mentioned... a lot of these cartoons are of public domain status and can legally be distributed for profit. Imagine if you started seeing "Cartoon Crazys Vol. 34: Rocky & His Friends!" in Wal-Mart bargain bins for $4.50 a disc with pristine remastered prints at the cost of the Ward family. Now do you understand the reasoning? If these programs were your properties to protect and preserve, I'm sure you wouldn't feel so adamant about small unnoticable logos that really don't distract anything from the otherwise incredible content of the set.
 

Steve Phillips

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I was referring to the ALF issue when mentioning edits. Watermarks, edited versions, time compression...all of these are starting to plague TV releases and it just isn't right.

When you shell out good $$$ for a classic like ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE, you should get the real deal not something you could have recorded off TV for free. Simple as that. I find it astonishing so many people are willing to sit back and accept this kind of thing.
 

MarcoBiscotti

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Obviously you have no idea as to what's being offered in these amazing sets if you would go so far as to compare the content with that of what's "airing on t.v." Again, these are some of the best comprehensive vintage animated television releases to date. For your value, they shit all over the Hanna Barbera Golden Collections! It just seems very narrow minded to me, considering how truly great these collections are... to each his own?
 

Dane Marvin

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I was annoyed enough to start the sticky thread at the top of this forum, but I have to agree with Marco that to boycott them will get you nowhere. It's still a good product even with the brief (and thankfully transparent) watermarks throughout, and at least there is a good explanation for it (damn you, bootleggers!). ALF season 1 is a totally different case because very little care went into that release and it had the potential to be huge.
 

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